Pace bowling coach Courtney Walsh on Monday warned Bangladeshi bowlers as he believed his charges would face a tough time in United Kingdom during the forthcoming ICC World Cup, starting on May 30.
Unlike the most other contenders, Bangladesh didn’t have a very potent pace bowling attack with most of their pacers having an average speed, which may require an extra effort in UK.
Bangladesh reached the semi-final in 2017 Champions Trophy in UK but the performances of their bowlers were not too
significant as they could only claim 12 wickets in four matches.
Caribbean legend Walsh, who is charge of Bangladesh’s pace bowling unit since August 2016, cautioned that the Tigers might face a similar situation in World Cup where pitches were expected to be flat.
‘It will be a big challenge,’ Walsh told reporters in Mirpur as Bangladesh began their final preparation camp for the tournament.
‘The World Cup is going to be a long tournament. There are going to be some good cricket wickets, which are batting-friendly. We have to be intelligent, and try to execute well.
‘We have to read the conditions and the surfaces we play. In some places the ball might swing more than others. We have to assess when we get there. Most of the wickets will be docile and flat. We have to work on our variations and execution.
‘Everybody studies one another these days, so they know our strengths and weaknesses. Likewise, we also know theirs. So it is about execution on the day, and try to be smart.
Walsh, who played four World Cups for the West Indies between 1987 and 1999, tipped the bowlers to rely on their variations to be successful.
‘Variations, thinking clever and execution have to be the key parts. Back whatever strength you have. You have to utilize early, to take early wickets which contains run rate and put pressure on the batting team,’ he said.
Several Bangladeshi pacers like Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain and Mohammad Saifuddin were dealing with some kind of injuries, which made Walsh more worried before the World Cup.
Mustafiz is currently recovering from an ankle injury while Rubel and Saifuddin also have problems with side strain and tennis elbow respectively, which left Walsh concerned.
‘Fizz is injured; he is not able to bowl. Rubel is just coming off an injury. Saifuddin has some problem with his tennis elbow. So those are major concern right now,’ he said.
‘We need to get them back into bowling, within the right frame of mind, and be sharp enough to do a bit of bowling in Ireland and be ready for the World Cup,’ he added.
Bangladesh, which will also open their campaign against South Africa on June 2 at the Oval, will play a tri-nation tournament in Ireland involving the hosts and West Indies in May as part of their build-up for World Cup.
-With New Age input
